Art Sciences and Archaeology

Organisation profile

The Department of Art History and Archaeology of the Free University of Brussels actively carries out research in the following fields: 1. The history of the fine arts of the late medieval and early modern periods, particularly in the southern Netherlands (among the main current research projects: the study of 15th- and 16th-century carved altarpieces, the mythology in 17th- century Flemish paintings, the study of art theory in early modern Flanders and ). 2. Medieval and early modern material culture studies (among the main current projects: the study of the medieval and later landscape in parts of Flanders, the production and consumption of late medieval and early modern vessel glass, the methodology and interpretation of medieval and early modern material remains and objects, and the study of the production and consumption of medieval and early modern ceramics). 3. Contemporary art and art theory, including film and photography (among the main current projects: spirituality and shamanism in contemporary art and the study of contemporary artists). 4. The history of architecture with particular reference to the early modern to contemporary architecture, including the history of public and private architecture in Brussels (among the current projects: the study of ice cellars and factories in Belgium and Europe and monographic approaches of public and private architecture categories in Belgium). 5. The archaeology in the eastern Mediterranean with particular reference to Cyprus and Lebanon (among the main current projects: the study of Cypriot terracottas). 6. The archaeology of prehistoric societies in Flanders (among the main current projects: later Palaleolithic and Mesolithic land-use, burial archaeology of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age societies). The research carried out within the Department aims at documenting the history of the arts and the material past in order to set the evidence within the broader context of European art history, culture history and archaeology. The work is done in direct contact with scholars and institutions in Flanders and abroad and it is also used in training the students.